Research
Thrusts
.....Nanostructures
.....Biomimetics
.....Bio-Nano
Weihong Tan - Our research interests are in bioanalytical chemistry and biophysics. The development and application of optical, spectroscopic and scanning probe microscopic methods for ultrasensitive analysis of biologically important compounds and for molecular interaction and manipulation is at the center of our program. The overall objectives of our research program are to study single cells and their subcellular structures by highly sensitive bioanalytical techniques, and to investigate single molecule interactions. We address a number of important problems in biomedical science, materials science and surface chemistry.
Biochemical sensors: The ability to determine the levels of interesting biochemical species on a cell-by-cell basis promises to answer many long standing questions in the biomedical sciences, and will play an important role in the food, drug, environmental and biotechnology industries. Our objective is to produce ultrasensitive biochemical sensors for real-time monitoring of many biochemical processes. We have developed a variety of biomolecule sensors which will monitor the concentrations of analytes such as proteins, DNA molecules, enzymes, antibodies, neurotransmitters and neuropeptides, as well as their time developments. Recently, we have developed a two-dimensional biochemical sensor, intended for chemical mapping of subcellular structures and real-time monitoring of cellular dynamics, for spatially resolved chemical imaging and sensing with excellent glutamate sensitivity and fast response.
Single molecule detection and manipulation: We are interested in investigating single biomolecule reactions and manipulations. Based on our single molecule studies, ultratrace detection schemes can be developed for early disease diagnosis and environmental monitoring of regulated species. Our long-term objective is to study single molecule reactions, and eventually to manipulate one molecule at a time.